Safety device



`May 18, 1937. B. JOHNSEN 2,080,485

V SAFETY DEVICE origina; Filed March 5, 1932 lllllll lNvEN-roR BJORNULF `IZHNSEN Patented May 18, 1937 2,080,485"

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY DEVICE Bjornulf Johnsen, Summit, N. J., assignor to Harry T. Goss and Bjornulf Johnsen, copartners trading as Goss & Johnsen, New York, N. Y.

Original application March 5, 1932, Serial No.

597,081. Divided and this application December 1, 1933, Serial No. 700,442

3 Claims. (Cl. 137-139) This invention relates to the automatic conwhere he can see exactly how much the tank will trol of fluid, either a liquid or a gas, owing hold and serve it without spilling. If, While the through a conduit, and more particularly to the fluid is being delivered, the vehicle should unexinterruption of such flow upon the disruption of pectedly move off with the nozzle still inserted in 5 the conduit by the application thereto of a load the fllel tank, the hOSe may either be tO'ln 0I' 55' beyond that which it is designed to bear or heat broken or such a strain placed upon the fluid above a predetermined temperature, delivery device as to damage materially some or This application is a, division of United States all of the parts thereof and, if a break occurred, application Serial No. 597,081 filed March 5, 1932, inflammable ud would lOW Out into the surand now Patent No. 2,048,387, issued July 21, rounding area and create a re hazard. 10.l

1936. In another of its aspects, the invention is ap- One object of the invention is to provide that, Dlieable aS a Safety Valve in a pipe line Conductwhen a force is exerted on a hose or pipe, a ing illuminating gaS, Say, into OI throughout a fracture will occur at a predetermined point, building, as at the meter in the service line from which fracture shall automatically result in the the sas main in the Street. Or such a safety 15 closing of the conduit to the flow of fluid. Ac- Valve may be disposed on each floor or in each cordingly, the wall of the conduit is weakened branch pille line in a bililding- In any event. at at least one predetermined point, and provishould damage to the line occur, the valve will sion is made to instantaneously release a valve auteina'ieallyelose the Conduit.

and permit it to close the conduit, The invention is equally applicable to the con- 20.-4

It is a further object of the invention to induit conducting fuel oil to burners, Say, 0n Shipcorporate the valve and its associated controlling board or in buildings, for the Same purposemeans, disruptable either by force or heat or These and other objects of the invention and both, in a self-contained unit adapted to be inthe means for their attainment will be more terposed in a fluid conduit at a desired point. apparent from the f01l0Win` detailed deSCliD- 22S'.-

Yet another object of the invention is the protion taken in connection with the accompanying vision of devices responsive to predetermined drawing illustrating, partly in section, a valve conditions which shall actuate or permit the acadapted t0 ClOSe a COndllil upon the breaking tuation of any movable element, as for instance of the conduit at a predetermined point by the a valve, a circuit controlling device or a signalapplication of a load to the conduit and also 3o; ling device. showing the adaptation of the same breakable The invention further seeks, for the control of element to the opening of a switch in, say, a a member movable for any purpose whatsoever, motor circuit. an element responsive to a given set of conditions While the invention has been illustrated as apas, for instance, a force or heat applied thereto, plied to a iluid dispensing device having a hose 35 which responsive element may, if desired, be refor delivery of fluid, it Will be apparent, as the placeable, description proceeds, that the invention is not The invention also seeks a device of the charlimited in its application to liquid dispensing deacter described, which is practical from the vices having hoses for the delivery of liquid but @standpoint of ease and cheapness of manufacture that it is equally applicable in any situation in and convenience and reliability in installation which the llow of any fluid, either liquid or gasand use, eous, is to be controlled dependent upon the hap- In one of its aspects, the invention relates to a pening of an event, as a rupture in the conduit safety valve controlling, say, the flow of an inor associated or contiguous parts, and, if desired,

flammable liquid, such as gasoline delivered, say, the simultaneous actuation or control of a remote 45 through a hose to a vehicle tank from a fluid instrumentality. dispensing device such as is adapted to dispense In the application of the invention illustrated gasoline and other liquid fuels at roadside servin the drawing, a housing 2 may be considered ice stations and the like, of the kind in which illustrative of a container for devices establishthe pump is automatically actuated, as by a ing the flow of fluid from a source and delivermotor. In such fluid dispensing devices heretoing it from a nozzle on the end of a hose 4 into, fore known, the operator, upon removing the Say, the fuel tank of a motor vehicle. 'Ihe hose nozzle from its support, starts the motor, for in- 4 is shown as leading from an outlet fitting 6 stance, by closing the motor circuit, manually of any convenient kind.

or otherwise, and then moves to the vehicle tank It is proposed, in accordance with this inven- 55 tion, to provide a device indicated generally at 8 and 9--I0 in the drawing, operatively inserted in a conduit section represented in the illustration by the nipple 'l and the nipple 5 on hose 4. Obviously the nipples 1 and 5 may represent the respective ends of any conduit sections. The device 8, S-iil controls the ilow of fluid through the conduit and interrupts its flow under certain conditions such as when there is a load or force applied to the conduit of such magnitude as to rupture it or displace or otherwise damage the conduit or any of its associated parts.

To the conduit portion 1 is secured a valve casing 8 having a valve opening I4 therein closed by a valve i5 mounted on a transversely extending valve stem I6, i8, one end I6 of which is seated in a bearing 20 formed in a removable member 22 threaded into one side of the casing 8 axially of the opening I4 and serving as a guide for a spring 23 bearing on the valve l5 and normally urging it against its seat 24 surrounding the valve opening I4.

The other end i8 of the valve stem on the other side of the valve l5 extends through a packing gland 2G and is conveniently formed at its outer end with a bearing surface 28 adapted to be engaged by a lever 30 pivoted at some convenient point, as at 3i, on the valve casing 8. The lever 30 is irregular in shape and, in the embodiment illustrated, its end 32 is bent at an angle to engage one portion l0 of a responsive element, 9, l0, which, in the embodiment illustrated, is capable of fracture as at the weakened section Il intermediate therebetween. The portion 9 is secured, say, to the valve casing 8 and the companion section i0 is secured to a conduit 5. Thus in the illustrated embodiment, if a sufficient pull is exerted on any portion of conduit 5 or sufiicient force applied to it laterally, the responsive device 9, I0 will break at the point Il, freeing the end 32 of lever 3D and allowing the spring 23 to seat the valve i5 and thereby close the conduit.

The movement of the lever 30 may be utilized to permit the closing of the valve or, in the alternative thereof, to interrupt the motor circuit or perform some other function and to this end a link 34, secured to the lever 30 is shown as connected to a switch operating arm 3E of a switch, not shown, within the housing 38 and controlling the circuit of the motor M actuating a pump, say. Thus, if the responsive device is ruptured, as at Il, either a pull on the conduit or because the responsive device ruptures as a result of an increase in temperature, assuming the structure 8,

ID or a part thereof to be fusible at a predetermined ternperature, the lever 30 will be released, allowing it to be moved by means of a spring, for instance, the spring 23, or any other spring urging the lever 30 to move to the dotted line position shown in the drawing, thereby drawing the link 34 to the dotted line position shown, thus effecting the desired movement, say, for opening the circuit to the motor and stopping the operation of the pump. It will be understood that the switch arm 36 is illustrative only and represents any remote instrumentality controlled by the responsive device 9, Il).

It will thus be seen that a safety valve or cutout valve or fire hazard valve has been provided which involves an element responsive to force or load and permits one element to move relative to another element to permit the actuation of a movable member as, for instance, to release a closure member, which movable member either closes an orifice through which fluid normally passes, or opens a pump circuit or performs some other movement. The strength of the material may be selected such as to stand the strain normally imposed thereon. It Will be further observed that the responsive element or member capable of fracturing is readily removable and replaceable so that the same movable member, Whether lever arm, valve or other device may be reused and only the member subject to destruction need be replaced.

While the invention has been described as combining the functions of closing a conduit and performing another operation at a remote point it will be obvious that the device is equally applicable when used solely to close the conduit or solely to actuate some remote instrumentality as well as to perform both functions substantially simultaneously.

Various modifications will occur to those skilled in the art in the composition, configuration and disposition of the component elements going to make up the invention as a whole as Well as in the selection and combination of the individual elements hereinbefore described, and their use to perform a desired function, and no limitation is intended by the phraseology of the foregoing description or illustrations in the accompanying drawing, except as indicated in the appended claims.

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a conduit, of a valve casing insertable therein comprising a valve having a transversely extending valve stem extending without the casing and a seat therefor, a spring normally urging the valve to its seat, a tubular conduit portion in communication with said valve adapted to fracture upon the application of a given force and means positioned by said conduit portion adapted to engage the valve stem and retain it in valve open position and to be released upon fracture of the conduit portion.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a. conduit, of a valve casing insertable therein comprising a valve having a transversely extending valve stem extending without the casing and a seat therefor, a springA normally urging the valve to its seat, a tubular conduit portion in communication with said valve subject to fracture upon the application of a given force and a lever pivoted on the valve casing positioned by said conduit portion and adapted to engage the valve stem and retain it in valve open position, said lever being released for movement to release said valve stem upon fracture of the conduit portion.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a conduit, of a valve casing insertable therein comprising a valve having a. transversely extending valve stem extending without the casing and a seat therefor, a spring normally urging the valve to its seat, a tubular conduit portion in communication with said valve formed with a weakened portion and means releasably controlled by said conduit portion adapted to engage the valve stem and normally retain it in valve open position, said means being released by fracture of the conduit portion to release said valve stem for valve closing movement.

BJORNULF JOHNSEN. 

